Author Archives: Mike

Announcing the JDP Sherlock Holmes Special Issue!

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hound“It is a worthy setting if the devil did decide to dabble in the affairs of men.”

That’s right kids, the Jersey Devil is about to meet the Hound of the Baskervilles and we’ll be publishing their unholy offspring in our January Issue. We’re looking for all manner of interpretations of the Holmes’ and Watson characters, whether past, present, or future. Bizarro Sherlock? Magical Realism Sherlock? Future Sherlock? Dick-joke Sherlock? Regular-old Sherlock? We want to read them all.

Submissions are officially open as of this very moment. Send ‘em to the special Submittable portal here.

What’s that you’re saying? You can’t make bricks without clay? Well here’s all the data you’re going to need:

Word limit

Just for this issue, we’ll give you up to 8,000 words, but make ‘em count. We’ll also be quite content with something much shorter, so flash is cool, as is everything in between.

Is this legal?

We think so. In 2014, the Supreme Court sort of ruled that Sherlock was in the public domain. So we think we’re on sound footing here, all the more so since absolutely no one is making any money off this deal (either us or you).

Are reprints okay?

So long as it’s not something currently available elsewhere online, we’ll consider it. But make sure to identify your submission as a reprint when you send it in and tell us where it was originally published.

Can Holmes and Watson be gay?

We’d kinda be disappointed if they weren’t, but it’s okay if they’re straight too. We’re open-minded like that.

Can we mash up Holmes with the Cthulhu mythos or maybe Bram Stoker’s Dracula?

Oh, yes please.

Let’s say I have a dead-on, pitch-perfect Conan Doyle pastiche that reads like something The Strand would’ve published in the 1890s – do you want that?

Actually, yes. Although we’re interested in new and varied takes on Holmes, I personally wouldn’t mind one classic tale to include with the more modern interpretations.

I’ve got a story that’s all about Irene Adler without really any Sherlock. Can I submit that?

How shall I put this? Fuck yeah.

Can I set a Sherlock story in the future on Ganymede or one of the other Jovian moons?

You’re just teasing us now, aren’t you?

What about a Holmesian poem?

If it sings like a Stradivarius, send it in.

Give us some examples of interpretations of Sherlock Holmes you’ve enjoyed?

Jeremy Brett, Steven Moffat, Neil Gaiman, Nicholas Meyer, and especially Michal Dibdin are all pretty good starting points. Honestly, we didn’t quite get into the officially sanctioned The House of Silk, but then we’re sour pusses.

When’s the deadline for submissions?

December 30 at approximately 11:58 pm East Coast Time. After that, we’re just gonna kick back and wait to watch this.

Once again, send your Sherlock submissions here.

So get writing! The game is…well, you know.

Go Time!

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They can rebuild him!

They can rebuild him!

8/31/14 UPDATE — Surgery was a success and Eirik will update more when he’s feeling up to it. Break out the Ewok victory song!

This is it people. Our friend, founder, and fearless leader Eirik Gumeny is about to head into surgery for his double-lung transplant. Help him across the finish line with whatever you’ve got — good thoughts, prayers, positive energy, the healing power of the Force, whatever! Send it towards Stanford now! You in the back with that Infinity Stone — get on this shit!

(Warm thoughts, well wishes, and inappropriate jokes also welcome on twitter and Facebook.)

Finally, while it’s awesome beyond words that he’s getting lungs, cash still wouldn’t hurt. Sadly, none of this is cheap. Donations always welcome here.

Urgent update: Kickstarter of a Lifetime

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Our friend needs your help

5/15/14 Update, in Eirik’s own words. He’s still waiting on those lungs, guys. And he could definitely still use your help. If you can donate, that would be amazing; if not, Eirik and Monica would still appreciate your good wishes, as well as any hilarious youtube videos, photos, notes, or other bits of miscellaneous entertainment to help them pass the time and let them know you’re thinking of them.

1/29/14 Update: It’s happening, guys—Eirik was officially listed for a lung transplant yesterday; you can get more details on Monica’s blog. This is good news, but he and Monica still need your help, so please spread the word and make a donation if you can. Thank you so much to those who have already contributed, re-tweeted, etc. Every little bit helps, but there’s still quite a ways to go.

1/26/14 Update: Eirik and Monica have been able to update their respective blogs on his condition. Read Eirik’s here (with profanity) and Monica’s here (without profanity.)

Here’s the rest of our original post from a few months ago, including information about how to make a donation:

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Let’s get this out of the way: we make shit up. Like most writers, it’s sort of our raison d’etre and all. You have no idea how much we wish we were making this up.

But we’re not.

Our friend and JDP’s founder, Eirik Gumeny, needs an organ transplant. Lungs, to be specific.

As some of you may know Eirik’s lived with cystic fibrosis his whole life. He’s now in his thirties which isn’t always the best time for folks with CF. Hence, the plan to get new lungs. You can read the specifics over at the page set up for Eirik by COTA.

The good news is we’re not asking you for your actual organs.

But transplants are immensely expensive, like in the neighborhood of a half million dollars on average. Insurance will cover some of that, but there are at least $65,000 in uncovered costs that are anticipated and that’s what we’re trying to get people to help with.

Simply put, Eirik is a husband, a son, a brother, a friend, and a writer. He deserves to keep being all of those things.

So if you can help at all, please do so. Not to go all Wikipedia on you guys, but if everyone who visited this site gave five bucks, well, we’d certainly be on our way to making a dent in the $65K.

On top of everything else, Eirik is the dude who thought up the idea for this place where a lot of wayward stories (and writers) have found a home that wouldn’t exist otherwise. Again, if that means anything to you, please help if you can.

Also, let’s spread the word. If you can get the message out on Twitter, Facebook, your blog, or whatever, that’s important too.

A lot of life is ambiguity. But every once in a while it throws you a chance to make a real difference in an actual person’s life, who needs and deserves to be helped. This is one of them. We’re counting on you.

— Mike Sweeney